Posts Tagged ‘mark towill’

Thanks in part to your good questions, Charlie Enright and Mark Towill came clean to Mr. Clean over the weekend about whether their currently 100% American team will carry a US flag, what commitment these ‘under 30s’ have to the rest of their generation, how they secured sponsorship, whether they have their team picked yet, and how they intend to manage what will inevitably be an intense few months as they ramp up to a November race that is fast approaching. There’s plenty more too in this half-hour conversation, and our apologies for the shitty resolution; apparently they have not yet picked up a mobile internet sponsor and we’re all slave to hotel bitrates…listen or download the audio-only feed here if you can’t stand blurry vids.

Thanks again to Charlie and Mark for the rapid response; we’re stoked to see how this one goes. Watch through to the end to find out where to send your CV if you want a shot.

Newly announced Volvo Ocean Race entry the All-American Offshore Team Skipper Charlie Enright and Team Manager Mark Towill are joining our Senior Editor Mr. Clean via Skype this afternoon. Wanna know the who/what/where/why/how? History tells us that you Anarchists come up with the best questions in all of these interviews, and you’ve got just 3 hours so get to work – so post your question here, and post them now!

We can finally confirm the news we’ve been hoping for; tomorrow we’ll officially learn that 3 years of blood, sweat, and tears flowing from All-American Offshore Team alums Charlie Enright and Mark Towill is finally bearing fruit, and Knut and crew will announce a US-crewed team for the 2013-14 VOR around noon CET with Charlie as skipper and Mark as GM.

The boys have played it close to the bone for quite some time for fear of souring the deal with early publicity, but we know much of the cash for this go-around came from a major pharmaceutical company based in Turkey. Pierre Orphanidis speculated earlier today that the team will be a Turkish entry with a US crew, and that it may be part of Turkey’s play to get far more involved in the VOR and in major sports in general. We’re not sold on the former, especially with the news that the crew will be entirely, or almost entirely American, but in this cash-starved sponsorship environment, anything’s possible. EDIT: Somewhat sadly, we note that the boat does indeed have a Turkish sail number, sponsored by medical group Alvimedica and driven by Turkish/Jewish entrepreneur Ishak Alaton. Alaton becomes the second Jew (after Larry Ellison) to make a major difference in American sailing in just a few years; those boys are killing off the Thurston Howell III stereotype, one Torah at a time!

Whatever it took, we’re stoked for the boys and we can’t wait to see how they go. Let’s just hope they keep it a US thing. No offense, Jimmy and Rome – but there are few things we USAnian sailors want more than to cheer for a real team of American racers competing on a world stage without all the funny accents to confuse things. Knowing many of the players, we expect this team to be quite a bit more democratic than most, and full of one-design talent if lacking in VOR experience; whether that’s good or bad remains to be seen. We wish them luck, and will have an interview as soon as we can get a hold of one of the boys via Skype tomorrow. Get to know the core crew here; they are not confirmed beyond Charlie and Mark…not yet…

Our unofficial accounting of the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race fleet comes to the below list. If they’re in bold, they’re paid up (more or less). Wanna speculate? Go where that happens.